Learning

One of the best ways of learning is by informal discussion with an established player, possibly at your local Go Club. Once you have learned the rules and are confident at playing we recommend you record your games and then play through them again, if possible discussing them with other, preferably stronger players.

Here are some recommendations depending on your level:

I do not know how to Play

Visit our About Go page which gives you links to the right kind of material and some short videos.

I know the Rules, but nothing else or not a lot more

For young players mainly: Have you tried Capture Go? It's not a full game of Go, but it's good at getting children quickly familiar with capturing stones (and saving them), which is fundamental to the game.
Visit our Capture Go page to follow this up with a couple of options for playing against a computer.

Why not try the tips produced for the UK Go Challenge? They are not just tips, but include problems and answers.

At this level some people find that playing against a computer program on a 9x9 board is helpful. The best of them is Igowin (Igowin Tutor for iPhone/iPad/iPod) which is a free version of Many Faces of Go.

If you want to play someone else on a 9x9 or 13x13 board and cannot find one locally (or they are not available when you would like them to be) then you could try the GoQuest program (iPhone/iPad only). This is very nice, connecting to a Go Server (in China we believe) and you will be playing people at your level of play almost all the time. It also provides a continuous assessment of your level of play - quite addictive really!

We also have a set of 33 problem sheets for you. The problems were produced by Paul Smith for the Cambridge Junior Chess and Go Club, but are suitable for all ages: Index, Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3. They are also available in editable format.

Greg Reid
of Queen Anne High School, Dunfermline, Scotland created some problem sheets for his own pupils, but has generously allowed them to be made available for general use. Each sheet provides the answers to the previous sheet (apart from problem 10). They're also available in editable format.

You have tried these haven't you? The tips produced for the UK Go Challenge? They're not just tips, but include problems and answers, and you will probably get something out them if you go through them a second time!

There is a life and death problem website to visit called GoProblems.Com. It starts off easy, but will trouble the best of our players with the most difficult problems...

There are many commented games at Neil Moffatt's site with comments specifically aimed at double-digit kyu and beginning players.

I just want to get better (I am 10-20 kyu)

At this level there are lots of resources, many available free on the Internet, but make sure you've already had a look at those we've mentioned above before going further. We have some recommendations for books for this level, in addition to more books for all levels of player and you should look at our Study Advice and our Study Aids.

I want to get better (I am better than 10 kyu)

At this level there are so many resources that it is much harder to give specific recommendations. See our books list for a list of all titles available.

We organise a range of Go Workshops across the country. Most of these events are aimed at the 10 kyu – 2 kyu range, but at least one every year is aimed at stronger players.

Our Game Review Service offers our members the opportunity to submit their games for comment. This is a very effective way of learning as comments are tailored to the individual.